After Operation Ivy broke up in 1989, Tim Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Matt Freeman (bassist) began Rancid in Albany, California in 1991. Among mainstream audiences, Rancid is best-known for "Ruby Soho" and "Time Bomb" from the 1995 recording ...And Out Come the Wolves. Rancid's style often draws comparison with The Clash, in their albums ...And Out Come the Wolves and Life Won't Wait, the latter of which is sometimes referred to as "Rancid's Sandinista!". This influence is further emphasized by direct homages to the seminal punk rock group in the lyrics to several of Rancid's songs, such as the title track to Indestructible.
Rancid enjoyed widespread popularity throughout the 1990s, with the band touring constantly from 1993 through 1998. They have released 6 full-length albums, along with numerous 7" vinyls and singles. Following the commercial and critical success of Let's Go, which garnered gold status in the U.S. with 500,000 copies sold, the band was pursued by several major labels, including Madonna's Maverick Records. Despite these offers, Rancid chose to stick with independent label Epitaph Records for their first four studio albums.
Rancid's second self-titled album was released on the Hellcat Records imprint in 2000.
Rancid's 2003 album Indestructible was released under Hellcat Records. The album was their first and only full-length album to be distributed by a record label other than Epitaph Records, and is the only Rancid album to be distributed by a corporate record label.
In 2004, after the release of Indestructible, Rancid went on hiatus. All members continued work with side projects, although the group has not officially disbanded.
Armstrong continued playing with the Transplants and their second album, Haunted Cities, was released in 2005. He also contributed vocals on Cypress Hill's hit single "What's Your Number?", from their tenth album Till Death Do Us Part. In late 2005, rumours abounded that Armstrong would replace the late Joe Strummer in a reunion of the British Punk band The Clash. These, however, have since been dismissed as untrue. Mick Jones, lead guitarist of The Clash, has said that he has always been opposed to a reunion and these claims are simply wrong. The rumors stemmed from a news site that posted an April Fool's joke that was then perpetuated by people unaware of the posting date.
Frederiksen has a side band Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards and their second album, Viking, was released in 2004.
Freeman joined Social Distortion in 2004, replacing previous bassist John Maurer. He left the band in 2005 and was replaced by their current bassist Brent Harding. Also during 2005, Freeman was incorrectly diagnosed with lung cancer.
Reed has not started or joined any band projects during the band's hiatus, but made a guest appearence on Transplants' Haunted Cities.
On March 7th, 2006, Rancid played several acoustic sets as part of Hellcat Records' Hellcat Nights concert series at The Echo. This was their first time playing together since the hiatus of Tim Armstrong's side project The Transplants. On April 13, 2006, Rancid also announced plans for a worldwide tour beginning in July 2006 and the release of a DVD compiling 31 of their music videos, as well as a tentative release date of Spring 2007 for a new, as-of-yet-unamed studio album.
